“Um…when will you be back? I’ll wait for you.”
“In two hours.” I turn away from Dom and climb into the passenger seat. “See you.”
I end the call, put my phone away, and buckle up, keeping my focus on the skyline in front of me. His revelation made me sick to my stomach, and all I want is to go home. But he continues to stand there, arms folded over his chest, watching me through the windshield.
Then, with a shake of his head, he gets in.
He starts the engine and rests his hands on the steering wheel. “What I did was wrong,” he says. “I was a dumb fuck who didn’t think about the consequences of my actions or how they would affect you. I’m sorry about that. I really am. I’m not that guy anymore.”
I stare out the window, ignoring him and the sincerity in his tone. I need to take a moment to think before I respond.
He pulls back out onto the road in silence, but after a few miles, he turns on the music. A tune cuts through the suffocating silence, dampening my anger a little.
But not completely. Thoughts and questions still plague me. About his past. About Remi. About how cruel he was over an innocent little crush.
Why would Remi make such a big deal of it? I was only fourteen, and he was clearly not interested.
I turn and force myself to look at him. “I just don’t understand why she told you I had a crush on you. Why did it matter? Why didn’t you ignore her? Or, better yet, ignore me?”
His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Because I was a dumbass who didn’t want to complicate my life, and I was worried Matt would find out about it.”
“You were worried he’d find out I had a silly crush on you?” I snort. “How the fuck would that have been your problem? Unless you can control minds and I never knew it?”
“Of course I can’t. She…” He sighs. “She kept pushing, kept talking about your crush on me…and I snapped. And I directed my irritation at you.”
“She’s manipulative. She probably did it because she wanted to stake her claim on you.”
His expression remains impassive. “No.”
Irritation ripples through me. “She is. She knows you feel like you owe her for her help, for being there for you after the accident, and she uses it. That’s why you don’t tell her to get lost.”
“You don’t know everything,” he grits out, “so please, stop making assumptions.”
My pulse quickens as I study him—the furrow of his brow, the muscle pulsing in his jaw. He’s flat out telling me I don’t have all the facts, but that doesn’t change the obvious. She manipulates him, taps into his guilt to get what she wants.
“You said you don’t love her. You never did, did you? You strung her along, letting her love you. That would make this indebted feeling make more sense.” I tilt my head to the side. “But what else? Because the guilt you’re feeling is?—”
“Shut up,” he hisses, his grip tightening until his knuckles go white and the steering wheel creaks.
My chest tightens, making it hard to take a deep breath.
“She knows how you feel, doesn’t she? And she stays because she knows you will never tell her to fuck off.”
“I swear, Mia, shut up.”
“You’re letting her fuck with your head, but God forbid I have something to say about it.” I chuckle. I’m pushing it, but I can’t find it in me to stop. “God forbid I had a stupid little crush on you when I was fourteen.”
He glares at me. “Now you’re fucking with my head. From what I remember, your crush wasn’t that little.”
“You didn’t even know about it until she told you, and that was only a couple weeks before I left for Phoenix. Don’t forget, you said yourself you weren’t sure it was true.” I bark out a humorless laugh. This whole situation is ridiculous. “But Remi said I had a crush on you, and I immediately became some pathetic little girl who needed to be put in her place.”
“That’s not true.” His voice wavers. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.” I lean over the console, so close, I can feel the anger radiating off him. “She was moaning and screaming your name while you fucked her all night. The message was clearer than any words you could’ve spoken.”
“You never stop, do you?” He jerks the wheel, pulling the car off the road.
I’m practically panting now, my heart hammering so loud, I can barely hear the music filtering through the speakers.
